MR. MACARTNEYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is true that, on Saturday the 15th instant, a riotous mob took advantage of the absence of all the constables except one, stationed at Coal Island, county of Tyrone, to attack the houses of the Protestants in that place, and to create such disorder as to detain the mail car until a force of police was despatched from Dungannon to quell the riot, and to enable the driver of the mail car to proceed on his way; and, whether he can state the reason why the usual force of Constabulary was on that occasion absent from Coal Island?
§ MR. SEXTONsaid, before the Question was answered he desired to ask, whether on the occasion referred to the police were absent from the town because the force was drafted off to protect an Orange band which was occupied playing provocative Orange tunes; and, whether the disturbance resulted from an assault committed by a body of Protestants on a few Catholics; whether one of the Protestant party made a bet 48 that he would go into the Catholic quarter and curse the Pope; whether he did so, and thus created a disturbance; whether the Orange party used firearms; whether the Orange party was the only party that used firearms; and, whether, in the event of any prosecution being undertaken arising out of this occurrence, the Government would take care not to submit the hearing of cases to the local Protestant and Orange Bench, but would send down special magistrates under the Prevention of Crime Act to hear the cases?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANThe hon. Member for Sligo cannot expect me to answer all the details of his Question. I will state what I have been able to learn. I regret to say that the occurrences mentioned in this Question of the hon. Member for Tyrone did take place. The Coal Island Constabulary, with the exception of one man, had been withdrawn to Stewartstown, where disturbance was immediately apprehended, in consequence of the Conservative flute band from Dungannon going through Stewartstown to Cookstown, where there was a hiring market going on. A number of the rioters have been identified and will be prosecuted.
MR. MACARTNEYwished to know whether, in consequence of the statements and allegations of the hon. Member for Sligo (Mr. Sexton), an investigation would be made?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANsaid, an investigation would not be held as the result of anything that the hon. Member said; but he wished to repeat that a number of rioters had been identified and would be prosecuted.